Systems dynamics and agent-based modeling have recently been used to explore complex systems in a wide range of disciplines. This talk will begin with a quick tutorial outlining the basic principles of these computational tools. Several simulations will be shown to demonstrate the visual aspects of the methods. A few current research applications in public health and medicine at Johns Hopkins will also be described. The talk will conclude with a brief, apolitical analysis of sequestration.

Tak Igusa is the founding Director for Education and Research of the Johns Hopkins Systems Institute. He received an A.B. in Applied Mathematics at Harvard and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering at Berkeley and was on the faculty at Northwestern University before returning to Baltimore in 1999 as a professor at Johns Hopkins. His research interests are in the application of mathematical modeling to understanding systems in public health, civil infrastructure, and medicine. His interests also include structural dynamics, acoustics, and applications of statistics and probability theory to problems in civil and mechanical engineering, and more recently in atmospheric science.